Purchase ergonomic and utilitarian furniture. Ergonomic furniture allows teachers and students to focus less on comfort and more on learning. Such furniture includes a teacher's desk, adjustable office chairs and bean bag seats for reading areas. Utilitarian furniture includes bookshelves, supply cabinets, folding tables and computer workstations. Buy as many or as few pieces of furniture as you need depending on your budget, the amount of available space and the number of students in your class. Such furniture can be purchased at office supply stores like Staples and Office Depot.
Arrange the furniture in your one-room classroom. Set up folding tables in the center of your classroom. Having students sit together at one large table facilitates collaborative learning activities. Tables can be separated when students must work individually. Place the bookshelves and supply cabinet(s) along the walls, the teacher's desk in front of the classroom near the exit for security purposes, and computer workstations in the corners. Place the bean bag chairs in one corner reserved as a reading lounge.
Decorate the classroom with posters and plants or an aquarium. Visually stimulate students by hanging colorful posters on the walls. Fill the bookshelf with books related to the subject matter you teach and leisure reading books. Hang a bulletin board for student projects in a prominent location as well as a dry erase board for daily classroom teaching activities. Veteran elementary school teacher Lajean Shiney recommends having living plants and fish in the classroom to teach students about science and caring for living things.
Install electronics such as computers, a telephone and a projector. Computers and multimedia electronics have become an integral part of the learning environment. Every classroom must have a telephone for emergency purposes. If you're making one room in a classroom within a school, technical support staff can install electronics for you. If you're making one room into a classroom in your home, each electronic item you purchase will come with setup instructions.